My interview with Brittany--a former BU student and Anthropology major--wasn’t quite what I expected, but it definitely helped me see the value of having an anthropological background. I learned that even if I don’t wind up as an anthropologist, my background will help me approach any future, in-depth writing with the holistic view that anthropology teaches. Brittany currently is attending grad school for a Master’s in Student Affairs, and is working as a GHD. She says the kind of writing she does does not require much “creativity of depth”, but she was able to utilize her anthropological background in her undergrad writing assignments. Sometimes, she’s able to stretch her writing in current classes so that her background in anthropology plays a role. In the future she hopes to return to formal, research-based writing, when she pursues her PhD in Educational Anthropology.
While my future (hopefully) involves mostly hands-on work with humanitarian causes (as opposed to actual anthropological research), I hope to be able to incorporate my background in anthropology. Brittany states that in the future, her background will help her look at issues in an “unbiased manor” to “see how they could be improved”, and that is something I’m sure will be of value in my future as well. I hope to spend most of my time traveling and helping people in the most direct ways possible, and having a background in anthropology will help me see issues from an objective point of view. More specifically, the branch of anthropology that I will study is known as “cultural anthropology”, so I will be better equipped to travel and avoid viewing other cultures through my Western lens.
From a very basic standpoint, Brittany and I--while our chosen career fields differ--share an important common goal: to help improve the lives of others. When I asked Brittany what she gets out of the writing she does, she simply said, “A sense of accomplishment and a hope that by sharing this information I could possibly be making a difference”, and that tells me that I’m on the right track.
While my future (hopefully) involves mostly hands-on work with humanitarian causes (as opposed to actual anthropological research), I hope to be able to incorporate my background in anthropology. Brittany states that in the future, her background will help her look at issues in an “unbiased manor” to “see how they could be improved”, and that is something I’m sure will be of value in my future as well. I hope to spend most of my time traveling and helping people in the most direct ways possible, and having a background in anthropology will help me see issues from an objective point of view. More specifically, the branch of anthropology that I will study is known as “cultural anthropology”, so I will be better equipped to travel and avoid viewing other cultures through my Western lens.
From a very basic standpoint, Brittany and I--while our chosen career fields differ--share an important common goal: to help improve the lives of others. When I asked Brittany what she gets out of the writing she does, she simply said, “A sense of accomplishment and a hope that by sharing this information I could possibly be making a difference”, and that tells me that I’m on the right track.